Obviously CalleighRyan
by Leooo
Summary: My first fic ever! It's about Calleigh and Ryan. CaRWash stuff!
1. War of Thoughts

_Yes, this is my first Fic…About Calleigh and Ryan! They're so cute together _

_Original I wrote the story in German…But Cinegirl and Dutchie from Talk CSI translated it…(Thanks, by the way again- love ya 333 )_

_So….here's it!_

**Obviously**

- R -

Perhaps it was this very short embracement - for just a second – after he came near being run over by this damned truck while working on a crime scene.  
Perhaps it was her relieved smile afterwards, or her huge, bright green eyes, which glowed at him in this particular kind. Or it was her glittering, long blonde hair, blowing in the wind such as in the shampoo advertising. Ryan just doesn't know. He only knows that this moment had moved something inside him. Something…indescribable, weird, hot and crawly but anyway: terrific. It's scaring him.  
Certainly he felt the same way some time ago. About more than three years ago he felt such intensive and it finished in a fiasco – a pure fiasco. He won't have such an experience again. Never and at no time! That's why he must not accept these feelings, has to eliminate them, because of his own private reasons.  
However – he knows, he fools himself with pursuing this way. You can't forbid one's feelings. They are simply present and you can't actually avoid them. All you can do is trying to ignore and to forget them. And this is exactly what he has to do now.

Calleigh Dusquesne isn't interested in him. Well, not in this special way he wants her to be.  
Sure, they're good friends and from the first moment when he came to the CSI as a newbie they hit it off with each other. He had seen her once before when he visited one of her seminars she gave and he was pretty impressed by her, always. He liked her!  
But he liked her as a friend. Felt sympathy for her. Today it's still the same but somehow different, though. He just can't explain. She seems to be such a strong, self confident person, in everything she does. She is so… independent, does as she likes, takes over the reins. She is so different from most of the women he knows.

And since this moment he couldn't get her out of his head! Damn it! It must not be.  
Why must this happen to him? Well, sure, it isn't that strange to fell…uhm…to conceive affection for a fellow member – look at Natalia and Eric! Although it isn't sure until now if they are together or not, so that doesn't truly count.

Ryan is in cleavage with his feelings.  
The day where "it" happened he was sitting on his comfortable couch, alone, and watched TV. He stared at the screen under a spell but didn't notice anything of the shown film. He carries on a war. A war of thoughts. On the one hand there was a big: NO. On the opposite there was: And anyway, WHY NOT?

"That will never work. I don't have to hold out hope."

"Why?"

"Because that would be strange"

"What exactly you find strange? "

"Well, somehow, because…just…just because it's strange! "

"Yes, but why actually?"

"Well, because…just because!"

"Because"isn't an answer! "

"That's the way it is: strange. We are fellows!"

"So what ?"

"Well, these are weird circumstances"

"But why? It isn't that extraordinary! Look at Natalia and Eric!"

"That's something completely different!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"And what is different?"

"It is… just different."

"I see…"

"She doesn't want me in any case"

"How do you know?"

"It's the way it is!"

"Is there any reason to suppose this?"

"Yes. No. Well, I just know."

"Aha"

"Yes"

„But you're both good friends."

„Yes"

"There you are!"

"And that's final!"

„Why?"

„I told you!"

„I don't accept this answer."

„Okay, forget it. It's meaningless anyway."

While discussing with himself, turning every possibility over in his mind, he always could get mad. The consequences never changed: it can't work and he always feels worse! Shoot!  
If he only could avoid her, but this isn't possible, for sure, because every day they are working together at a case.  
He fears she could figure out, what he feels or that she finally does it. That wouldn't be well for him. He can't tell why he fears the discovery, but at that moment he just doesn't want her to know.

-C-

Perhaps she realized it when he began to stumble a bit during an interrogation as she entered the room and sat down besides him. Perhaps it was his awkward look as he fumbled nervously in his hair and mixed it up; or it happened while she was talking to Marc at the telephone , which whom she had a date that evening, and Ryan came in at the door, listening to the last words she spoke: "See you tonight, Marc, I'm looking forward to it!".  
After this call Ryans' mood suddenly changed into real bad one...  
Calleigh doesn't know the exact time when she first assumed that Ryan could have...well, more than friendly feelings for her.  
Certainly she isn't sure of this matter for 100. She is only guessing, but time and again those moments return where she finds her assumptions verified. On other days, when she pays attention to it, nothing special happens and she simply forgets about it – until another moment attends. A moment where he looks at her with this special glance:  
A faint smile surrounding his lips, his wide, dark eyes focus her attentive – realizing and admiring every motion she makes. When he becomes aware that she returns his look he turns into a shy guy and looks confused aside, his hands.

Calleigh doesn't know for sure if she should enjoy this feeling, apart from the question if she is right. On the one hand she really feels flattered; Ryan is a great and cute person, he is… somehow cuddly! Every time he looks at her with his sadly seeming – hush puppy! – eyes, she wants to lock him in her arms and hug him.  
His hair is as dark as his eyes. He has a small mouth which seems to carry a hidden smile all the time and a very beautiful nose. Well, perhaps it sounds crazy to entitle a nose beautiful, but she can't think of another word for it.  
Altogether: Ryan is a very friendly person; from the beginning she liked him, even if she first didn't acknowledge it to herself. It was because of Speeds' death and Ryan was his successor. The first time was very hard: Speed and she were the best friends and than suddenly he was shot on duty.

- C -

Otherwise she and Ryan just were colleagues at the CSI. Okay, perhaps a bit more than colleagues – sometimes they flirt a little while being at work and them both don't even realize it, not until they refocus on work again. At that point always an inner voice comes up in her mind and whispers: "What was THAT?"  
But that means nothing! Ryan is just a good friend, nothing more; and if - theoretically - tender feelings will grow… oh well! This won't – can't – happen! Because…because that will never do. He is so much younger than she; okay, perhaps that's not the best argument because age doesn't matter when you love – everybody tells you. But for her it's something different; she also doesn't know why but she just can't imaging being together with Ryan. Hum, Ryan and Calleigh, Calleigh and Ryan. It sounds strange…  
She decides just to ignore it as good as she can. She will move on as before, working and talking to him normally and – yeah, even flirting with him again, if circumstances permit.  
It'll be his funeral, not hers.  
Will it really?

"Would you please take this to Horatio?"

She handles him a sheet.

"What's that?"

He takes the paper and reads through the text, than facing her again with that look of inquiry.

"Horatio is just working at the case with that missing woman and this is the analysis of the stuff we found on her desk."

"Sure" he answers with low voice and smiles at her.

"I would do it myself but I have to call Marc again because of tonight."

She doesn't know why she said it. Why she said it this way. Perhaps she wanted to test him, but after speaking out this little sentence she realized that it was completely wrong.  
Nevertheless Ryan just smiles a little confused, winkles irritated, stares at his hands in which he still holds the analysis-paper and looks back into Calleigh's eyes.  
"See you." Than he leaves.  
Is she wrong or did he really seem to be somewhat sad? She feels lousy. Why the hell did she tell him this? Does she want to hurt Ryan? Man, her guilty conscience makes her hate herself.

_Next Chapter will follow at once_ (:


	2. She's out of my league

_In German my chapters are longer, because I didn't really understand how to post it here. So, now I'll make them shorter :P_

- R –

Every time faint hopes rise up, forbidden hope, but he can't help. They just appear, sneaking in his mind and leaving not until all hopes are shattered; as it is now.

_"I would do it myself but I have to call Marc again because of tonight."_

Marc. Because of tonight.  
Damn it!  
He could kick against the frame he's just passing. He could knock over the garbage can. He could jostle everybody who walks past him without regret.  
Always these stupid, hidden inklings just in front of him! That's what gets on his nerves but he can't avoid them. They hurt and they are making him furious. When will this stop? Soon, hopefully. He's becoming an emotional wrack.  
Later that day, while driving home after work, his mood ran a deficit. He turns on the radio:

_Obviously _

She's out of my league

I'm wasting my time

Coz she'll never get mine and I know

I never will be good enough for her

It couldn't fit more perfect. He drives along the Miami Streets which are fully lighted at night, nearly a spectacle. Normally he loves watching this scenario, after an exhausting case the lights used to calm him down. But not tonight. He just wants to get home and fall asleep.  
Well, if he could manage to sleep: probably he will lie awake and think about the situation. Shoot!  
Now he gets to the calmer district of Miami where the nature dominates. He drives through the darkness, only the headlamps of his car show him the way of the street. The shadows of the trees and some small houses seem to fly past him.  
About 15 minutes later he lies awake in his bed and can't fall asleep.

-C-

It was a nice date. Marc acted like a real gentleman, made her compliments, held the door open and drove her home. He was cute and also charming but that certain je ne sais quoi was missing. Something like that prickle when he took her hands or that beating of her heart when he just touched her – she didn't feel it. Nevertheless it was a beautiful evening – finally Marc is nice and modest and he knows how to treat a lady – perhaps it will lead to more, despite the missing "spice": he looks well although his middle parting is a bit outdated but nothing can be perfect. And in the case that she won't be able to convince him of a more modern hairstyle he still counts with his good character and his baby-blue eyes.  
While lying alone in her warm and snugly bed at home she thinks of Ryan for short time: what he might do at that moment? Probably he's sleeping…  
As soon as she starts thinking of him her bad conscience nibbles at her. Why did she say all that stuff? All she can do for now is hoping. Hoping that she is wrong in all of her presumptions or hoping that she didn't drive a wedge between them both. She doesn't want to lose Ryan.  
Not to lose him. How that sounds. It sounds like…relationship. But there is nothing! Nothing more than friendship; at least for her part.  
Ryan is angry. She feels it. He tries to avoid her, what is really difficult while working on a case together. But sometimes he asks Eric to handle out Calleigh his results. Eric doesn't understand his strange behaviour and wants to know what's going on.

"Do you both have struggle?" he asks Calleigh after Ryan sends him to her one more time, telling him he has do get s.th. important to done.  
A deep sigh is the only answer he gets from her.  
"Aha" Eric replies and walks on. Probably he just almost knows what's going on. It isn't that hard to focus it out.  
But for now there are more important things to do so Calleigh gets back to work.

_---------------_

_Ooookay, very short…but I'll post the next chapter now (:_


	3. Philosophical throwin

-R-

He isn't cross with Calleigh, or even in rage. If at all he is somewhat hurt, but that's not her fault because she doesn't know anything at least – as far as he knows.  
It would be disastrous if she would know! Definitively it would be too strange for her and she might end up their friendship.  
Well, probably she wouldn't do that, but Ryan can't stop thinking about it and that this could happen. These thoughts seem to jump in his mind and to fix themselves – only can be blown away with a huge portion of optimism and self-confidence. And that's exactly what he lacks.  
But just in this case, at work he isn't that shy and undecided, no, at work he feels strong and self-assured. Concerning relationships it is the other way round: than he is a confirmed pessimist who tends to sink in self-pity. That's what he hates himself for: why isn't he able to check himself and to tell Calleigh, what her little sentence caused in him.  
Why he can't simply invite her for a drink?

Before **_IT_** happened, he would have done it easily - what of it?  
But IT happened anyway and now he can't do it anymore. So stupid! It would be more logical and useful if it goes the other way round (again).  
Ryan knows how foolish he seems when he always sends Eric to Calleigh, just to avoid her.  
Sooner or later she wants to know what's going on with him – and then?  
What should he tell her? He even doesn't know what to tell Eric, so how could he explain it to her?  
He decides to check himself. Somehow everything will work – it HAS to work. If not, well, then…then he has to leave. But it must not going this far and it will not!

-C-

Perhaps she was wrong and Ryan wasn't angry; or he hides it very good. Perhaps he just needed one day to get over with it…  
In any case: now he is his old self again. No Eric to bring her Ryan's results, no, Ryan is doing it personally. In some way he seems to be stressed as if he was forced to do it, but anyway: he was doing it!  
You can read Ryan's eyes like a book: just a short look and you know immediately how he feels. Why it is this way Calleigh doesn't exactly know – perhaps it because of this sparkling in his eyes: sometimes it seems sad, sometimes enraged, sometimes disappointed, and even horrified, to name but a few - you might find thousands additional feelings there.  
In the following days this little unnatural expression on his face disappears – slowly but at least it is gone, and Ryan gets back on talking normally to her again. No more of nervous fluttering and convulsive grin. He seems to have forgotten it after all and she is very relieved - so relieved that she can actually laugh with Ryan again.

„There's something wrong with the weather." Ryan suddenly says. He is standing next to Calleigh and watching her analyzing the victims' clothes.  
„What?" Calleigh straightens herself and looks at him. His view rests on the jacket she is holding in her hands and it seems as if he would dream, as if he's wool-gathering.  
„The beautiful weather doesn't fit to the death."  
She fixes him with her eyes, seems trying to awake him.  
He closes his eyes for a second and then looks directly into her face after opening them again.  
Calleigh realizes that in this special light his eyes seem to be green, not dark brown as usual. She never saw it before, but decides to pay attention on it.  
„So many murders happen here, every day, but the sun keeps on shining the hole day, not one single cloud to see – that doesn't fit."  
She says nothing, just looks at him a little confused.  
He stares at his hands, embarrassed: „That was just a small philosophical throw-in."

-R-

Sweet? Did she really say this or did he just understand what he wanted to?  
After she finished her batch this way the room turns quiet for a while. He didn't know what to say, his face got hot and Calleigh concentrates back on the jacket again she needs to analyze, a smile on her face.  
How does she always achieve to confuse him this hard? At one time she talks of dating this guy Marc and another time she tells him that she finds him sweet – or that he IS sweet. Well, that's pretty much the same, isn't it? Yes, it is.  
Perhaps it doesn't mean anything. Well, definitively it doesn't do. She only told him to brighten up his mood. Why, the hell, did he start talking about the weather? Now, after all, it sounds completely stupid.  
He only wanted to say something, some spirited words…spirited, haha, he finally made a fool of himself!

-C-

Sweet? Why did she say it? Okay, she could have just THINK it, but not telling him straight!  
She finds Ryan – as she already implied – cuddly, for real. Like a teddy bear. But did she have to tell him? No, not really.  
The word just slipped out, she couldn't do anything to avoid it.  
Afterwards she is annoyed for what happened. What if Ryan raises hopes just because of her?  
Well, if it's true at all. There's still a very slight possibility that it's not and than it doesn't matter anyway.

Now it's end of the work day. There she stands, watching how Ben Madigan, the murderer of Sarah Znoyd, is lead away in handcuffs. He shortly shows Calleigh a hostile view, then he is pushed in the police car.  
She feels a faint air draft behind her and knows without turning around who it is.  
"I'm glad it was him and not the mother.", she hears Ryans' harsh voice from behind.  
She has to smile, but still doesn't turn around to him.  
"Perhaps it sounds strange, but so am I."  
Together they watch the policemen entering the car, too, and driving away. As the car is nothing more than a small point in the distance she finally turns towards Ryan.  
„Still clear weather, isn't it?"

Ryan looks at Calleigh as if he doesn't know what to say now. His small mouth wears this faint hidden smile again, his eyes – now dark again – are alertly focused on her. He seems to be touched a bit embarrassing.

Calleigh has to smile again. She takes a look at the fields which extended behind the Miami Dade Headquarters and are spotlighted by the rays of the sun.  
"Are you disposed for a little walk?"

There it was again! Suddenly she had said it, just because. Again it just slipped out. It seems as if she has lost control of the things she wants to say, as if her mouth wants to do what he wants. Let there be no more of this. In the end she might say something more, she doesn't want to think about it – all the others could regard her as a kook!  
But now it is spoken it out, there's no return.  
No return: that sounds so… negative. Anyhow the weather is actually clear, sunset, and she really feels the wish to rank the fields – but not on her own.  
Ryan's gaze doesn't change, he only bows his head.  
"Okay."  
Side by side they're walking, slow, strolling. Their hands are dangling nearby, just a few centimetres off…

_-------------------_

_haha….gripping?_ xD


	4. Mando Diao

They just walk along the track in silence, towards the sunset. The heaven seems to glow and dives the grain fields which are gentle soughing from the mild wind into bronze light. It smells of nature, of fresh grass and earth. Some birds are still chirping and the crickets are chirring.  
„Romantic" presses in Calleighs' mind without wanting it. Perhaps it would be better to be here with Marc and not with Ryan? To go for this walk together, she means. Would it? But why she minds, it doesn't have to mean a thing, she just goes for a walk with a good friend and – okay – there is a little bit of romantic atmosphere. Not to mention that she isn't really fond of such sob-stuff.

"What kind of music you like the most?", she interrupts the silence, probably to stop her thoughts. And it's a good question because she truly wonders before but always forgot to ask him. But luckily she remembers now!

He looks at her, smiles and she smiles back. In this mild light his lovely eyes are shining yellowish; and green and brown…

"Mainly I prefer rock-music; various types of it. But just NO Hip-Hop! I'm getting earaches from this kind of "music"."

She has to laugh.

"What types of rock-music exactly?"

Again he bows his head aside and raises his eyebrow, as if he is asking himself why she want to know all of this.

„Okay." He takes a deep breath and stuffs his hands into his trouser pockets – nearly touching her hand while doing this, but only nearly…

"Indie, Rock'n'roll, Alternative, some Punk and Pop-Rock… I also like Emo. I enjoy listening to bands like "Taking Back Sunday", "Mando Diao", "The Strokes" and some more. Well, I prefer not so public bands."

„Wow." Calleigh puffs away a hank from her face which was blown there by the wind.  
"You really know the scene, I, personally, never heard one of these band-names yet."

"If you want I will bring you along a CD, they are actually amazing."

"Okay". She gives him a smile.

"And what's about you?"  
His eyes examine her full of expectation. Right in this moment he looks like a little child. She has to grin.

"Well, I like Rock'n'Roll, too, in addition I listen to a lot of "Queen" and "The Beatles". I just like Oldies."

"That's good: no Hip-Hop, that's the best!"

They are both laughing. Slowly he removes his hands of his trouser pockets and for only a second he touches her hand. Indeed it's short but they both twitch back as if they have been stung by a wasp.  
A funny feeling expatiates in Calleigh's body, a strange feeling, much too extraordinary to describe it just with these words – it's somehow sensational, hot, scaring, a bit awkward but… indescribable.  
They both stopped walking and now are looking at each other, silently. You can only hear the chirring of the crickets and the singing of the birds.  
Calleigh hears her heart beating fast, she feels burning hot.

-------------

_awwww_ o.O


	5. As You wish

What did this short contact moves inside her? Why does she suddenly feel uncomfortable when he touches her? Right before this happened she felt great, comfortable, while walking along the fields side by side next to him, talking about music.  
Music…it's a very good subject to break this weird silence.  
As she starts talking again her voice sounds hoarsely. It seems as if that voice wouldn't belong to her anymore.

"Do you play any musical instrument?"

Ryan's eyes fixating hers again. She can't stand his glaze, has to avert her eyes and stare at her hands. But she still feels his view.

"Yeah.", she hears his voice. He sounds as if he would be in trance. "I play drums and e-guitar, acoustics, too."

She forces herself to face him again, directly in his eyes. She makes it.

"Two instruments? Wow!"

The sparkle of his eyes returned. But now she can't match it correctly.

"And you?", he asks with breathy voice.

She slowly wags her head; her view is tacked on his eyes to find the underlying cause of his thoughts. It doesn't work, for any reason she just can't concentrate on it.

"Nothing.", she answered.

Another five seconds they face each other, muted, just a half meter apart. Ryan seems to pattern everything of her: her hair, her shoulders, her nose, her mouth, her legs, her feet…

She for her part looks at his arms and hands, hanging beside his strong body; they are normal hands, pretty ones, by the way. Rather a little small for a man, looking soft and tenderly. Not the way she knows from other men she met, Marc included. His hands are massive, nearly as the paw of a bear. They are raw and dry, his fingers have a yellow gleam - he is a smoker.

"Shall we return?", Calleigh asks, even if she knows that she disturbs a magic moment. Well, she doesn't really know what's magical about to stare at each other without saying a word, but the feeling was there.  
Ryan looks in her eyes again, breathes, coughs slightly and smirks.

„As you wish."

Does she want to?

Yes.

No.

No idea, but somehow she wants to.

They turn round and walk back to their cars – even if it wasn't a long promenade.

Just before she gets in her car she calls a short "Bye! 'Till tomorrow!" to him, then she leaves.  
A look in her rear-view mirror shows her that Ryan was still standing besides his car, watching her drive off. Finally she drives a curve and he was out of her sight. But this indescribable feeling still lasts.

-R-

Ryan counts the second on his digital buzzer. He lies on his bed, meanwhile it's 11.56 pm and he just can't fall asleep. But this time it's different: this time his heart throb doesn't drops back to rage, disappointment or sorrow but to happiness. Even just thinking of the soft contact of their hands a pleasant shiver runs down his back. And that feels good, very good; although it doesn't mean something – or does it? Somehow she gave the impression as if she would…

Never!

Or…?

No!

Perhaps, you know….

The war of thoughts again. But slowly the Yes-side seems to gain the mastery.

-C-

Something is different. Something has changed between them – and nothing negative.

Perhaps it starts with the daily welcome every morning already. Before, it was just a short "Hi Ryan!", now at first there is a smile, perhaps a short, shy look, then a "Good morning, how are you?".

It's funny what a moment – no matter how short it has been – can effect. It can change someone's whole life; well, in this case it's not a life, but…hm, what can it be? You might say that they get closer, closer than before. Just because of this one short magic moment. Not absolutely close but… close – and she loves it.

---------------------

_uuuhh..._


	6. Aren’t you glad to see me?

-C-

But now it didn't meant something real with Ryan, she saw Marc again. Almost every other day he took her for dinner in a chic restaurant, apparently he had the money. Calleigh somewhere admired him. He was so mature and elegant. Which didn't mean that Ryan wasn't mature. Just in some situations he looked like a kid. Then he acted so…fragile and unsure.

But Marc wasn't like that. He always kept his proud attitude, his straight way. Calleigh could imagine him the drive of a Rolls Royce. He had class. He talks like a butler, when he asks her if she wants some more champagne, or a glass of wine.

Last night, he'd told her that she should meet his kids someday. He had been married for four times, and from every marriage he had a child.

"I'm sure you'll like them, my four daughters." He'd said and smiled at her, showing his lightening-white teeth.

She had returned his smile and quickly taken a sip from her wineglass. To be honest, she didn't really look forward to meeting his kids. She liked it, if it could continue like this. Every other day he picked her up at her place, drove her to some place and they talked. But Marc apparently wanted more. Include her in his family. It makes her feel uncomfortable, thinking about it.

He had tried to kiss her on the lips, when they said goodbye, but so far, she'd always turned her head to the side, so that he only kissed her cheek. After a: 'See you later.' she went into her house as fast as she could, looking at him shortly, before closing the door.

Ryan had actually thought of the CD, or of the CDs. He had brought her four and grinned so cute, that she would love to kiss him on his cheek. Which she, of course, didn't do, but the thought had been there.

He'd become happier. Since the walk, she saw more often how he looked at her, again with his special look. As soon as he discovered that she saw his look, he lowered his head and looked at his hands.

She doesn't tell him, that she's meeting Marc again. Well, why would she anyway? She didn't know how he would react. If she was right, his good mood would disappear immediately. And she didn't want that. It was much nicer working with a happy Ryan than with a not so happy one.

This time he picked her up at the lab. Suddenly he is there, standing in front of her, in the hallway, and smiles at her. She comes straight out the DNA lab, and is planning on going to Ryan to tell him what she'd discovered. They are working together on a difficult case, but now Marc is there.

"Hey Calleigh. Aren't you glad to see me?"

No, she isn't. Honestly it was more making her nervous. Why did he have to come here, they didn't have plans anyway. Well, at most that she'd call him tonight. Last night she had promised to call him, and intended to do it tonight. But now he's here.

She doesn't answer his question, just looks at him coolly. "What are you doing here?" Marc does a step towards her and laughs. "I just want to see you."

Calleigh gets warm. But not from happiness, but from anger. When then Ryan also walks around the corner and walks towards them, it seems to be perfect. Attention Irony.

"Hey Cal!" He greets her out of breath. He must've ran before. "I was looking for you, I have to show you something, Alexx found something in the victim's body, it looks funny and…" He stops talking. He seemed to have noticed Marc, who is friendly extending his hand.

"Hi, I'm Marc. Calleigh's boyfriend, in case you didn't know that yet."

Shit, Calleigh thinks. What is he saying? She feels her face getting got. She looks at the floor, biting her lips. Look everywhere, just not in Ryan's hurt face.

"Hi." She hears Ryan say next to her. His voice sounds weak and from the corner of her eyes she sees how his hand hesitatingly grabs Marc's. "Ryan. Uh…Ryan Wolfe." "Nice to meet you. Calleigh has told me a lot about you." Marc squeaks, so she wanted to slap him. He was acting like they were married!

She looks him in the face, not trying to hide her anger. But doesn't seem to notice it at all, he just smiles at her and says: It looks like you're already busy." "Yes." She answers coolly, not returning his smile. She sees from the corner of her eye, how Ryan is standing next to her. Again their hands are just a few inches apart.

"Well then…" Marc runs a hand through his hair and grins shyly. "Would it be okay, if I pick you up later? Then I'll take you to dinner." "Okay." Calleigh says, a bit colder then she wanted to. She just wants him to leave.

"Great." Marc glows, takes another step towards her and kisses her on her cheek. The pricks of his three-days beard sting her. On top of that, he stinks like smoke.

Then he finally leaves and Ryan and her stand there alone, not saying anything. But this time it's another silence. Calleigh knows with every word she would say about this, it wouldn't make anything better. No, probably even worse. That's why she doesn't say anything about it, and just says: "I'll go to Alexx then."

She does, and leaves Ryan behind her. She doesn't have to turn around to know which feeling reflects in his eyes right now.

------------

_I don't like Marc!_


	7. Cottontail

-R-

Shit. That's the best way to describe what he is feeling right now.

-C-

Ryan doesn't look at her the days after that. Only answers, if he really has to and they are very short. She is sorry. She feels terrible, but what should she do? Talk?

But how? And this is definitely wrong place for that.  
Wait and see then, how it would develop itself. Maybe it would calm down. But maybe it wouldn't, a voice in her head whispers. She doesn't wanna lose Ryan. Not now. Never. She were closer now then ever, and she had felt really good and Ryan too, and then this little visit from Marc and this little lie would destroy that all?

With the next opportunity, she decides to talk to him. Alone.

Marc comes in, reaches out and pulls her against him. He doesn't smell like smoke anymore, but to Hugo Boss perfume. His beard is still there, but this time it doesn't look so unattended as earlier. This time he seems to belong. Though his stupid haircut is still there. He himself probably thinks he's irresistible. Or he thinks that she finds him irresistible. Like always. Fact is, that she's hates him. And the stupid haircut.

"Hello my cottontail."

Cottontail, how childish! She raises and eyebrow as he takes her hand, brings it to his mouth and kisses it.

"Are we going, milady?"

As answer, she just nods quickly. She doesn't feel good. He had something planned. But what?

They leave the building, stand directly in front of it. It dawns already, but this time there is no sunset. No chirping crickets and no rushing wind.

Marc was holding her arm, to keep her up. He looked deep into her eyes and takes her hand in his. Next to him she looked tiny and delicate, like an elf being compared to a bear.

"I love you." He said, without warning. She is frozen, feels how she cramps, when he pulls her towards him. She tries to break out of his grip, hit him, but his grip is too strong. She doesn't succeed.

A second later he presses his lips against hers. His beard stings her, his breath smells like an astray. Her heart beats in her throat, the blood rushes in her ears and she can only think one thing: GO!

------------------

O:


	8. Complete disaster

At this moment she can't remember when the last time was she felt so much fear. She was really scared. Marc shouldn't touch her. It is only horrible and she can't cry, since he has his wet, slippery tongue down her throat. Tongue. The only possibility, to escape him, is this.

Marc probably never felt this pain. How could he, when you grow up wealthy every day, never in contact with danger and adventure?

Loud and painfully he screams, after Calleigh almost bit his tongue off. But now she's free. She stands for that in pain curving man, coughing and trying to calm down again. Her legs are unable to move from their place, while he knees tremble.

Marc doesn't speak, looks at her hatefully. "Are you crazy?" He suddenly yells, walks towards her quickly. "Come on, you want it too!"

He takes her arm, pulls her against him. She screams. "Let me go!"

"I can see it in your eyes."

Nothing is left anymore. Nothing, from the old, charming Marc. Nothing from his elegance, his pride. It's scary. And suddenly he is there. She sees him as a dark shadow first, who jumps on Marc, so that he has to let Calleigh go, to defend himself against his attacker.

"Let her go, you bastard!"

Ryan.

She closes her eyes for easement, just for a moment. Her heart makes a jump from relieve, she can feel how the fear slowly falls off her shoulders and she doesn't care where Ryan came from, how he popped up from nothing. The main thing was, that he is here. Marc is irritated for a moment, because he hadn't counted on Ryan, now he was almost a head bigger than him and thinking. Marc's fist hit Ryan hard, in the middle of his face. Stumbling Ryan falls down, hands in front of his face, coughing from pain.

"Ryan!" Calleigh suddenly snaps out of her trance, hurries to the on the ground sitting Ryan. "Ryan, stand up!" But he just groans, doesn't want to take the hands off his face, also when she asks him to. She lifts her head. Marc stands there, looks speechless to his hand, like he couldn't believe when he just did. "What have I done?" She hears him mumble.

"Just disappear." She says. More hate a person can't get in his voice. She trembles from anger and excitation. "And don't you dare ever coming anywhere close to me."

For a moment she thinks that he wouldn't go, because he just looks at her, like in trance, still both hands in front of his face. But then he runs away. She watches, how gets into a car and drives of with squeaking tires shortly after.  
"Ryan!" She kneels next to him, places both hands on his shoulders and softly shakes him. "Ryan, stand up." He takes his hands from his face, his mouth opened. For pain, she can see that in his eyes. His chest goes up and down, like he couldn't breathe too well. Probably the shock. His nose was strongly bleeding. Nevertheless he does what she says and stands up.

"Are you alright?" Calleigh asks, taking his by blood red made hand, to help him onto his feet, supports him and at the same time searches in her pocket for a handkerchief, but doesn't find one. Ryan nods, holds his head as if he had a headache and groans, so that it really makes Calleigh have empathy with him.

"I'm so sorry."

Actually she wanted to tell him so much more at that moment, but he wouldn't hear her anyway. He bows forward, holds with one hand still his bleeding nose, breathing heavily. She noticed that he is still holding her hand with his free one, like he was holding it for support, not to fall over. And she let him. She doesn't care that his hand is bloody. She is so sorry for him. Only because of her. Only because she had to go with Marc. He had been a complete disaster.

"I can't let you drive home like this." Her mouth talks on it's own. Her lips speak faster then she can think. But at this moment she decides not to fight it. She lets herself talk. "You are riding home with me."

Ryan looks up, his hand still covering his nose, like he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Then he gets up and groans. "It hurt so damn bad."

How he's standing there, his nose upwards, so it would bleed too bad, his hand underneath it like a bowl, to protect his shirt and dark grey blazer from red spots, almost makes her laugh again. It's not an angry laugh, she doesn't make fun of him. It was just a laugh of sympathy. Tough to define, but somewhere he looked so…sweet again.

"That is not funny! I save you from this monster and for thanks you laugh at me." He said angry. She hears the played anger in his voice. He seemed to have found his humor again. She in his place would probably be very sourly. When he would be seeing someone else, without telling her any…Wait a minute! She doesn't want anything from him. Actually.

At this moment, she noticed, that their hands were still holding. He notices it too and pulls his hand from hers.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He murmurs a bit. "Doesn't matter." She smiles at him, look at her hand shortly, which is very red. But she really doesn't care. She can still feel his in it. "Do you have a handkerchief, or…?" The light hope in Ryan's voice wakes her from her thoughts. He is still standing there like that, trying to catch the blood. It reminds her that Ryan can be neurotic in some things. This is definitely his favorite shirt and he just can't stand not seeing it clean.

"No." she shakes her head. "Come on." She turns around, walks in the direction of her car. She hears from the footsteps that he is following her. And then they're both in Calleigh's car, she at the wheel, he next to her on the passenger's side. Again not speaking, while outside the darkness wraps the landscape in the shadows. While black trees fly by. Now and then another car passes them with bright headlights. He is still sitting there, as he stood before. Not removing his hand from his face.

They are on their way to Calleigh's house. Not knowing, how it would continue…But, of course she had only taken him because he couldn't drive himself in this condition. At her place, he could simply fresh himself up and then she'd drive him back to where his car stood. Nothing more. Of course not!

They arrived. Ryan gets out the car. It's not easy, fastening off and opening the door with one hand, and then also getting out. She also gets out, definitely easier than him, but obviously she hadn't been hit in her face by Marc's fist.

They walk to her house next to each other, which lies threateningly and big in the shadows. When she sets the first steps, the light above the door goes on. When she reaches the top, she takes her key out of her pocket, sticks it in the lock and turns it. It clicks and the door opens. She turns around. Ryan looks at her. Hopeful, but something else too. She spots a bit of fear in his eyes. Like he didn't know what would happen to him. He had removed his hand, his nose wasn't bleeding that much, just a bit.

She smiles at him encouraging, takes his arm and pulls him slowly and gently into the dark house with her…

-------------

_so, that was it. At first, of course. I just have to wait, till Cinegirl will translate the next chapter, but I think she hasn't got so much time to do it..._ ;)

_Hope you like it!_


	9. Man, you scared me!”

-R-  
Her apartment looks just as he had imagined: bright and colourful, but not too loud. Everything was held in pastel, soothing to (?) the eyes. There are some tastefully pictures with flowers, waterfalls and beaches with palms on it. The ceiling lamp immerses everything in steady light and with a view in the dark night out of the huge window besides the couch you can surmise amazing scenery with hills and meadows. Ryan likes her apartment – it's comfortable and pretty. It completely goes with her.

„Back there, the second door from left, there is the bathroom. If you need it, you can find some bandaging material in the commode, the lowest drawer." While Calleigh deposits her bag on the couch her blonde hair slides across her shoulder. Just like silk – her hair is like silk, for real. If you would run your fingers through it you wouldn't hit upon a resistance, you wouldn't find any bun or the like. Every single hair sits perfectly, side by side the next hair – how would he like to run HIS fingers through it, just to check out if appearances are deceiving.

"What?" , she asks and eyes him suspiciously. Not until now he realizes, that he just stood there the whole time and stared at her. He makes an effort and tries to ignore this fluttering, funny feeling in his stomach. "Nothing. I…I will go…to the bathroom now." He points at back with his thumb but still stays for a moment to calms down his thumping heart. Then he turns around and leaves.

"Wrong direction!", he hears Calleighs' voice.

He swings around and notices an amused smile on her lips.

"What…?"

She laughs. "The bathroom is at the opposite direction. This way leads you to the cellar."

"Oh." How embarrassing! Another time he made a fool of himself. Ryan feels his face getting hot. Quickly he takes the correct way to the bath. Not before getting there and looking at himself in the mirror, seeing his own blood in his face and on his hands, he feels the nagging pain in the bridge of his nose again. Now when Calleigh isn't there in the same room with him…

-C-

Calleigh still smiles, although Ryan isn't in the room anymore. She just can't switch it off, it's coming directly from within. She could squeak: "Cuuuuuute!" when she things of him, taking the wrong direction. His goofy, confused look was so…quaint!

But instead she just pulls off her jacket and places it on the chair, sits down and gets up right after it, as to run quickly to the mirror which is hanging above the telephone and to take a short look at herself. She expected to look awful, that her hair would be in a muddle, but everything fits. Fine.  
Just on the way to sit down on the chair again her view stripes her stereo. She grins: in the  
past days she has listened to Ryan's CD's, he gave her, every evening and she liked them a lot. Exactly her taste.  
She presses the Play-Button.

_Cause I've got you_

To make me feel stronger

When the days are rough

And an hour seems much longer 

Somehow the text reminds her of today. She can't say what exactly; perhaps it's just the word "strong"? Or "night"? It doesn't matter anyway.  
She has a strange but also terrific feeling, some kind of being tipsy… She had a similar feeling when their hands first contacted, shaved, at their walk in the fields.  
Ryan is here. In her apartment. A bizarre imagination, but it's true. Somehow it's lovely to have someone here with her, someone she really likes a lot, not being alone anymore – someone like Ryan.  
Well, don't think that would mean something, she just took him with her because in his battered condition he wouldn't have been able to drive home – that's it!  
Though it's nice to have him here with her…  
She sits down on her couch, listens to the gentle music in the background, waiting for Ryan's return from the bathroom. After certainly waiting more than five minutes she gets a bit anxious about him. How long does it take to just refresh oneself?

"Ryan?", she calls towards the bathroom. "What are you doing all the time?"

She hears him answering but couldn't get what he said. So she gets up from the couch and walks towards the bath. The door is open and she recognizes Ryan in front of the mirror, leaning above the washbowl. She can't see any more blood drops on him – not on his hands and not at his nose. Ryan hasn't yet recognized her standing in the doorframe.

„Hey, you're already done, so what are you still doing?", she asks him a bit confused.

Ryan winces and groans as he sees her.

"Man, you scared me!" He grasps at his heart for a short time and starts smirking bashful as he noticed her look of inquiry.  
"I…uhm" ,he scratches his back of the head, „I just cleaned up a bit. So many things were standing around here…"


	10. Arranged chaos

Now she's seeing it, too. Before, all of her cosmetics and nurture utensils were standing disarranged on the shelving, some even on the side of the sink; but now everything is nearly awfully sorted – after colours!  
"Ryan, you wretch! You destroyed my neatly arranged chaos!", she yells at him feigned aghast, and he first looks at her as if he has a bad conscience. But after all he realizes her grin.  
„I'm sorry, but there was this hairbrush lying and…well, she didn't belong there and so I stowed her away. But once I started, somehow I can't stop it!" He has to laugh as well – at himself.  
Perplexed she shakes her head. "Get out of here. I have to bring back order into this „chaos". Oh, by the way: how is your nose doing?"  
Painfully Ryan screws his eyes: "She aches hellishly, but not as much as a while ago." Then he gets ready to leave the room. Calleigh presses herself at the doorframe to allow him to pass. He tries to squashes himself by her, he is very close. So close that their both bodies nearly touched all over. She feels his warmth, his heartbeat. He smells good, so good! She doesn't know this smell, it's somehow flowery.  
Her head begins to swim. Well, not exactly, but it feels like that. Butterflies are fluttering in her body – they seem to spread out from the points where Ryan touched her and now it prickles in her whole body, even in the toes and the finger tips. Her knees become shaky and if she doesn't pegs to the doorframe she might just topples down.  
Wow she thinks, unable to articulate it. Ryans face is directly in front of hers. His eyes studying her intently, expectant, confused, a bit fearful…  
Closer and closer – she barely realizes how his handsome face approaches hers steadily, until his two brown sparkling eyes seem to become blurred to one. She can feel his fresh breath on her lips, their both points of the nose shaves each other…  
„Ouuuuchh!"

Ryan flinches back, his face contorted with pain, stumbles his back of the head against the doorframe and groans again immediately.  
„Gosh darn it!" He squeezes past her totally, holding his aching nose.  
Calleigh ignores her beating heart, her shaky knees and that what just nearly happened. Anyhow: she tries it. She follows Ryan out and strokes his arm carefully.  
„Are you alright? " She recognizes some tears of pain in his corner of the eyes, but he nods: „Tomorrow I'll see a doctor, I swear! "

--

Afterwards he had left she lies in her bed and couldn't find any sleep. She thinks about the day, about everything that happened today - and what almost has happened.  
Perhaps it has already happened during their walk when their hands touched for a short time. Or perhaps it was his glance after it. How he eyed her up and looked at her. Well, it doesn't matter, when it had happened, it just happened. She never had thought it could get this far. Never…or?  
Well, perhaps she felt it and just didn't acknowledge it to herself, even when she figured it out she denied her feelings.  
Nearly they had…but only nearly! And only because of the nose. Stupid nose! No, stupid Marc who broke Ryans cute lug – or at least slightly broken her…  
Stupid Calleigh, who went this far with Marc.  
So everything is her own fault, her fault that it didn't happen! Anger rises in her, like hot boiling water – she had been so damn stupid! Why did she have to run after this nuff and freaky Marc, while the answer was lying directly in front of her!  
About two hours before she finally drove Ryan to his car. Again they both didn't say a word during the whole ride. Nobody had the courage to touch upon that nearly happened affair. What doesn't mean that they feel nasty because of it – well, anyhow from Calleigh's side; but she just couldn't take courage – perhaps she feared Ryan's reaction, though she now asks herself: why? With hindsight she can't tell which reaction she might have feared. Perhaps she only waited for him to say something, and probably he waited for the same inversely. But on the other hand: what could you say about that subject? _"Sorry, but tomorrow we'll get it!"_ ? Scarcely. Actually you can't say anything about it.  
„See you tomorrow.", he had whispered to her before he closed the door of her car and his shadow was swallowed up by the darkness.  
Tomorrow - it's time to dare a step forward. Now that she finally knows about her feelings and also knows that she can't avoid them, she just will ask him…


	11. Do you have a moment?

-R-  
The next day they work normally together. Still neither of them talks about the theme. But he thinks about it every second. How close her face had been, how her eyes had shined, how warm she'd been, how beautiful. He thought he was going to fall down the next moment. Would she really have done it? Did she feel the same as he? Or had it been only this coincidence again, where he had only imagined this special attraction, also from her side?

No. He knows that that isn't true. She had moved her head too far to his for that. Her lips had been too close for that, to be a coincidence. Only his nose had stopped it. Stupid nose. Stupid Marc.

He had been to the doctor this morning. His nose was a bit broken. He already suspected that. When he had looked in the mirror at home, his nose back had been swollen and red. Today he walks with a big white band aid on it all day. Everyone asks him what happened. Eric, of course, couldn't keep his comment inside. "Is that band aid the new fashion or what have you done to get yourself into a fight?"

But Ryan says that he made an unfortunate fall on the edge of his table. If Calleigh is next to him when he says that, she smiles at him, much saying, but still painfully affected.

Inside, he wanted to get it back, what they'd missed yesterday. Inside, he wanted to ask her out on a date. Inside he wanted her…

"Ryan?"   
"Yeah?"

It is Calleigh. He stands alone for the many evidence that lays on the table in front of him. She stands in the doorstep and looks at him observantly. By the look of her his heart starts to beat faster again. He just can't stop it.

"Do you have a moment?"

"Sure." Ryan says unsure. Was she going to say something about yesterday? He is tensed, and scared at the same time, for what she is going to tell him. She smiles at him, throws her hair backwards over her shoulder with a swing of her head. "Do you have plans for tonight?"

For a moment he stares. Silent. He only hears his own heartbeat. Would it be…was she going to…would she really? He coughs, closes his eyes for a moment, opens them again and looks into her bright, green eyes, which are observing him.

"No, to be honest, I don't." His voice sounds harsh.

Calleigh laughs and crosses her arms in front of her chest. She is so beautiful in this moment, that Ryan nearly died. 

"Good. How about we go do something? Go for dinner for example?"

Ryan forgets to breathe for a moment. Is she serious? Apparently. He can hardly seize his luck, and says: "Yes." When he said it, he felt that he had to say something else, or else he sounds so rude, like he didn't really want to.

"I'd love to." He says and smiles at her. She answers: "Okay. Good. You want me to pick you up? Around a quarter to eight?" He only nods quickly as a reply, grinning from one ear to another. He doesn't care about his heart rate right now. Also the fact that he is going red as a tomato. He feels so good. Great, no, fantastic! He feels like the happiest man in the world.

It's true; Ryan Wolfe and Calleigh Duquesne have a date.


	12. sooo charmingly

-C-  
To be honest: she had already expected him to say yes. She felt it, after everything that had happened, or didn't happen. Still it was a wonderful feeling, to hear how he said yes. And when he added "I'd love to." and smiled sweetly, so that she knew that he really meant it. She went out the room quickly, so he didn't hear her hard heartbeat. Afterwards she would have stuttered.

Actually she wanted to excuse herself for his nose again. Also, when she knows, that it isn't really her fault, still she had this small, bad conscience. When she had to watch, how he every time forcefully pinches or scratches his nose, there were the white band aid on his nose back sticks. (She can't help herself, somewhere it looks sooo charmingly!)

When she had to listen how the others made fun of it, especially Eric. Or how Horatio looked at him with that I-know-exactly-how-that-happened-look. Every time she sees Ryan, she has to laugh. Not that she laughs at him, or something, he just looks so damn sweet and frustrated and funny. It is more like a laugh from empathy.

A quarter to eight. Then it's time. The whole time at work she'd felt a strangle tingle in her stomach. A very interpreting tingle. It's not that it's bad. Somewhere nice. But good bad. Like, when you get a test back at school, and know that you have almost everything right and take a good grade home for sure. Exited. Anxious. Good. Yes, something like that.

Oh my god, what should she wear? Maybe she should go like this, how she always looks. Okay, she has to shape herself a bit, but not that much. She wants to look like she feels right now: happy. And it has to be comfortable. No unnecessary accessories, that only disturb. No shoes with high heels. Not to much make up, so that she has to run to the toilet at least every quarter to re-apply it. No dress that sits so tight that she can hardly move. No, maybe she should just go in her trousers. In her black, gracious ones, with the blazer that's just as black. Right. That's good.

Somewhere it's unbelievable. Somewhere so…rare, but in a good way, of course. A real, official date. No spontaneous walk. With Ryan, not with Marc, that…that bastard, as Ryan had called him. But it's right. 

Stop. Marc has to be forgotten. Today she's going out with Ryan. He, who had been a good friend only. Maybe that's the rare part. In a good way, like said.

-R-  
Nervous he stands in front of the mirror, runs a hand through his hair until it's frizzy. But he doesn't care. He only pays attention to his clothing. He hadn't really made himself chic, with a suit, or something. The whole time he had wondered if he should wear one, but somewhere…he doesn't know. He has this feeling that it wouldn't fit. He doesn't want her to think that he is gonna propose to her. 

So he just chooses a black pull under, with a white shirt underneath it and a blue-gray pair of jeans, that have a little overthrow on the end. That's enough. Also a suit looks ridiculous when you have a white band-aid over your nose back. He cursed the thing. He looks so stupid with it.  
Hopefully she doesn't dress up to much. Like she would come in a dress and…no. She wouldn't come in a dress. No way. For Marc maybe, but not for him. Hopefully.

Fifteen minutes to go and with every passing second, his heart seems to beat faster and his hands seem to tremble more. He just can't sit still, waiting, he can't. It only makes him more nervous. So he walks from one side of the room to the other, stands still for a moment, goes to the window, looks outside, maybe she comes a bit earlier, walks around the kitchen table three times, and stands still again next to the coffee machine. Should he take a…no, no more coffee today! Or at least not before the…date.

Date. A real date. With Calleigh. A real official date.  
A real official date with Calleigh.

Then it rings. That's her. He wants to race to the door, open it and jump into her arms, but he forces himself to calm and slowly walk to the door, push the knob down patiently and open the door with a gentle push from his arms.

She looks amazing. No dress. But an elegant black blazer and underneath that a white, playful pointy upper section. She's wearing her hair down over her shoulder and again it's perfect. For a moment he is speechless, and has to concentrate on saying the next words without stuttering.  
"You look great." His heart beats, like it's going to explode.

She smiles, and bends her head to the side. "Thanks. You too." She had said that only to be kind. With this band-aid on his nose he looks like an idiot. But he can't take it off. Something so stupid.

Shortly it is silent, each examines the other, each with a shy smile on the lips. Then Calleigh point behind herself with her thumbs to the yard, which already dipped from the dusk into golden light. Her car stands directly next to Ryan's.

"Can we go?"

Ryan coughs to make his voice sound normal. "Okay. We're going by car, not?" She grins. "Okay."

While she had asked him out on a date, he still has the idea he has to drive. To ask her, where they are going. That he had asked her out. He finds it funny, that it's the other way around.

They go to his car and he decides that they won't be silent during this trip.


	13. Something so stupid

-C-  
He looks so damn sweet. She just wanted to jump into his arms, when he opened the door so shyly and unsure at the same time. He definitely wishes the band-aid on his nose to go to hell. Poor guy. But when he knew how sweet he looks with it, he would probably wear it forever. Funny imagination.

This time they aren't silent during the whole trip. It is also somewhat different. The mood is different, somewhat looser. She is relieved that he didn't wear a black suit. That would be…rare. Like he was gonna propose to her. In his sweet pull under with the white, long armed shirt, he looks just right.

"Where are we going anyway?" Ryan asks, while he steers the car and concentrates on the road. For him are at least fifty other cars driving. Apparently there's much to do today. 

She shrugs. "We can just go into town and then look." He looks ah her shortly and smiles. "Okay."

Again she feels the butterflies, that are tingling in her stomach and want to force her hands to extend and run through Ryan's hair with her fingertips. Through his beautiful, dark hair. It's quite frizzy. Really- she can only say it again- sweet. Sweet and nice and charming and perfect and…

Somewhat later Ryan parks a bit outside the centre, on a public parking lot, where you don't have to pay. That is one of the reasons why he doesn't wanna drive into the centre, he tells her. "And we probably wouldn't find a free space. Today there's much to do here. We can just walk a bit. Or do you have something against it?" She shakes her head. She is still smiling. It probably won't leave for the rest of the evening.

What had she said not too long ago? Calleigh and Ryan, that sounds so unreal? Haha.


	14. Where are we going anyway?

-R-  
To be honest there's another reason why he parked outside the centre. Ryan likes it, just to go somewhere and have a good time. Especially with a person, who he really likes.  
He forces himself not to look at her the whole time. It's really hard. She simply looks so…unbelievingly amazing! How she walks next to him, her hand hanging down, moving with the rhythm of her walk. Again their hands almost touch. So close.

He feels how hot flushes rise inside of him, that make his face hot and his heart beat faster. Thank god it's already a bit dark. The first streetlights go on, so that she can't see that he's getting red.

Slowly, how closer they get to the centre of Miami Beach, it gets crowded on the streets, on those they now go, further and further towards the many lights from the big city. They meet people, men, women, and children. Many alone, many as a pair, or with a buggy. It gets louder. Voices, traffic, even soft music from further down the street can be heard. They walk past the first restaurants and bars.

Calleigh only shortly walks through the door, makes a face and says: "A bit full." Or: "Full, loud and smoky." Or: "Pff…a bit expensive."

They walk further and further, but none has the feeling my feet don't want to anymore. Their hands touch shortly, but this time neither pulls back. Not Ryan and not Calleigh either. They just look at each other, smile and walk on.  
When Ryan thinks about it, he doesn't really feel like sitting in a restaurant or a bar. Not to mention that everything seems to be full today. He could walk on like this forever. Walk just. Walk, until the road stops, until it doesn't go on. Just see where his feet lead him.

"You know what?" Calleigh asks.  
"No, but I'm sure you're gonna tell me."

She grins. Well, actually she grins the whole time, but this time a quiet amused laugh comes with it. "I can go on like this forever."

He has to grin too. He can't help it. Is that now thought transmission?

"Okay." He says, looks at her and bends his head a bit to the side.

And they go. Further and further. Through the streets, past high buildings, in their windows all lights shine. Through streets, where many people walk, past cars that stand in the tailback, with angry drivers in it, because it doesn't move. But Calleigh and Ryan just walk through the gaps, behind each other, always thinking not to loose the other from their sight too long.

They slowly reach the end. Well, the end of the centre. Which means they should be close to the beach, where definitely many parties and organizations are going on. Ryan can already taste the salty seawater, which is being carried by the wind, on his tongue. A pleasant, soft breeze blows through his hair, and makes it even frizzier than it already was. But with Calleigh it looks nice, how the wind seems to play with her hair. Wants to lift it, because it's so light. Really, how it looks in the commercials, but this is not computer-manipulated, but real.

Around two minutes later they take a small grind road, which is surrounded by bushes and plants. They hear the calm floating of the sea, soft music and soft voices and at some point the grind road turns into a plastered one, directly by the sea, that seems to grow wider and more black, like a real treasure.

The plastered road is around a meter higher then the beach sand and is being lightened by a few weak lights. They see silhouettes from other people, how are either romantically arm in arm, or hand in hand, walking next to each other, or just sit on a bench together, watching the sea dreamily.  
Somehow…there are only couples here. Ryan can't see a single…well, single. He glares at Calleigh. Has she noticed it too?


	15. Shoulder against shoulder

-C-  
Calleigh glares at Ryan. He probably also noticed that there are only couples here.

-R-  
When their looks cross, he looks at the ground, at his shoes. At his Converse Chucks, the black ones, with the small white stripes on them. His own heartbeating becomes louder than the floating sea, the soft voices around them and the soft music. She noticed it too. And now?

"Are we walking on?" He murmurs, almost too soft, but she heard him anyway. Maybe also because she was just about to ask the same question.

"Yes."

They walk on. Past the many couples, this time silent again. But it is not a painful silence, Ryan somewhere has the feeling that he would destroy a part of the mood, if he said something now.

She is so close to him again. Shoulder against shoulder. Her hands touch almost with every step and every time he feels the tingling everywhere, in his entire body. And suddenly her hand is in his. Suddenly she's there. She feels cold, slippery, weak even. He holds her, looks at his side shortly and notices that Calleigh does the same. Their looks cross, again they both smile. She looks so beautiful…in this light, in this environment…ah what, she always looks beautiful.

A small pull goes through his arm, because she stands still. But she's still holding his hand, she pulls him, so that he turns around to her. He looks at her questioning. What is she going to do? Would she now…no she wouldn't…she…  
His heart beats in his throat, and beats a bit too many times. Would she do…? Here…? Now…?

She grins. She grins like a little girl that has just put a rotten egg in her brother's shoe and knows exactly what's going to happen next. She pulls him closer to her, with the one hand, lifts her head a little. He only has to extend his arms to be able to hug her, that's how close she is. Almost as close, as in the doorstep. When it almost happened.

He feels her warmth and how he would like to do it now and…he takes her other hand too, looks deep into her eyes, like he was trying to find the answer in them. The answer, if he should do it now, here. If she wants it too.

She nods slowly, lifts her chin, he lowers himself a bit. Almost…now…his heart beats fast, he feels dizzy, like he's a bit tipsy. Just two more centimeters, a finger width and they would…

"Moment." She whispers.

He freezes. "What?"

"Your nose…" She grins again, then bows her head to the side to not hit his wounded nose.

It's like he hit his head against something hard, only that it doesn't hurt so much, but only tickles, like when you hit that bone in your elbow. His blood boils like champagne, when their lips slowly and doubly touch…


	16. The best words in the world

-C-  
It's totally different with Ryan. His lips are warm and taste sweet, like…she doesn't really know. A bit like honey. He kisses carefully, slowly. It's just wonderful. She feels like she's lifted by a big wave, overflowed, lifted again and finally, when the kiss ends, lands on the beach with a soft push.

When he smiles at her afterwards with his deep, brown eyes, still only five centimeter from her face, she can just melt away. Directly into his arms, letting him catch her with his hands, which are still holding hers. She can hear his heart's fast beats. She can see in his eyes, what this kiss had meant to him. Exactly the same as it did to her: everything. Somehow everything is moving. She doesn't really know where down and above is. Where is left, where is right.

Still she feels his lips on hers and she just wanted to kiss him again. Again and again!

But she lets go of his left hand, holds the other still and walks forward. He follows. He has to. But it's not like she pulls him with her, he follows himself.

At that moment, when she notices that she smiles again the whole time, from one ear to the other, she also notices that now they are also one of the couples on the beach. The freshest, or the newest, however you wanna call it.

It feels so nice. Ryan on her side, holding her hand, at least just as happy as she is. How could she be so blind at the start? She could've had this way earlier. This light, floating, flying feeling. Really, it feels like she was on a pink cloud.

"I wrote a song once, long ago." Ryan starts suddenly. While he talks, he looks at the sky. "I don't know what it was called. I only know one single line from it, because I liked it so much. When I look at the sky now, I think of the line."

Calleigh also lifts her head. Millions of starts shine in the dark space, like fine glitter powder. Like someone spilled a whole box of it. By accident.

"What was the line?"

Ryan clears his throat and then sings.

"Our first kiss I know... will be... Sometime, Someday… When the stars are bright, that will be the day…"

For a moment it's silent again. Calleigh smiles again. He had a beautiful voice, really. And the line, it's so…right.  
"Looks like you are a psychic." She laughs and playfully hits him in the stomach. He laughs too. Then he looks at her again with his big eyes, stands still, so does she. She looks at him questioning. What is he doing? Ah well, she wants to do it too. Even when he would run to the dark, cold water and jump in, she would join him.

"Calleigh…" He whispers. He takes her hand, his fingers mix with hers.

"I love you."

These words, they're like…a gold shower. No, much more than that. Those are the best words in the world. Like all good words in the world, together in these three.

She has to kiss him. She takes his head in-between her hands and pulls him to her, kissing his lips. This time more passionately, then the first time, but he kisses her back. Deep and passionate. Their tongues find each other, play with each other, stroke each other, every move is perfect. Like their lips agreed to do every move that way, that it always fits. His arms wrap around her body, pulling her closer to him. Again the wave of pure luck overflows her.

Their lips separate slowly, but they're still standing there, forehead against forehead. Her hand on the side of his neck, her fingers stroking his soft cheek. So soft like a baby's skin.

"I love you too Ryan." She whispers. "I love you too."

Then they both smile. Weak, but happy.

_Yay, it's done! Thanks again to cinegirl and Dutchie, love you (:_

_so...did you like it? Please review!_


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